The invention relates to a biohybrid joint or articular surface replacement.
For the treatment of damaged articular cartilages, e. g. caused by deformities, injuries or degenerative diseases, development work is concentrated on the production of replacement cartilages, which can be implanted in the patient.
Of late processes for producing implants from cell cultures have become known, such as are e. g. described in the Sittinger international patent application WO 94/20151. Cartilage cells are produced in vitro in cavities of a three-dimensional carrier structure.
The Vacanti WO 90/12603 discloses a system for the in vivo neomorphogenesis of cartilage cells from a cell culture.
The cartilage implants known from the prior art suffer from a number of disadvantages.
A reliable fixing in the subchondral bone is important for a completely satisfactory articular replacement surface replacement. For this purpose the implant must be held by complicated suture techniques or fastening clips.
An important problem in the therapy of pathological changes to articular surfaces is the penetration of synovial fluid, whose constituents, such as hyaluronic acid, impair regeneration and growing in. The synovial fluid, which flushes round the inserted implant, prevents an attachment of the cartilage structure to the defect boundaries and to the bone.
The hitherto known cartilage substitute materials for the treatment of articular defects are unable to fulfill the requisite criteria for a successful, durable healing, such as reliable and simple fastening to the bone, rapid growing in, physiological restoration of the articular structure and permanent functionality.
The problem therefore arises of providing an articular surface replacement, which is formed from cartilage cells in a three-dimensional structure, which is simple and reliable to produce under standard biomedical conditions and with existing equipment.